Rafe met with Ava at Tripp and Wendy's apartment. Ava explained that she was in a hurry because she needed to prove herself to Roman in her new job. Rafe was surprised to learn of Ava's job change but moved on to the topic he wanted to discuss, Clyde's book. Ava confirmed Harris had updated her on the findings. Rafe wanted to find a motive for Gil as the murderer, and he needed Ava's help.

Ava insisted that she did not have any useful information about Gil or Li. She sarcastically suggested hypnosis, which Rafe thought might not be a bad idea. Ava claimed she had been racking her brain, trying to remember anything important, but had come up empty. She reiterated that she needed to get back to work. Rafe continued to implore her and said he needed her help "badly."

Rafe speculated that Li might have been working with Clyde, but Ava shot down that notion. Rafe then pressed Ava about her own possible association with Clyde, since Ava had previously been in charge of a drug ring, at her father's behest. Ava shot back that those events had happened decades earlier, and she grew hostile as Rafe questioned her prior employment at the Bistro. Rafe couldn't understand why Stefan would take the fall for Ava. He asked Ava if Stefan and she had been having an affair behind Gabi's back.

Ava immediately protested and claimed Gabi had been the only woman for Stefan. Rafe continued to press Ava on her past as a criminal, which further offended Ava. Rafe presented his theory that Gil had arrived at the apartment, looking for Ava, and that Li had been the unlucky victim of circumstance. Rafe assumed Ava had been the intended victim instead of Li.

Rafe again pleaded with Ava to tell him the truth about her association with Gil so that he could build a credible motive for Li's murder. Ava asserted that she had no involvement with Gil other than as his employee. She speculated that Gil had gone to the apartment because "the Bistro isn't an ideal place for a sexual assault." With tears in her eyes, Ava stated firmly that she had killed Gil in self-defense.

A tearful Ava confided how Gil's death had haunted her, and the idea that she might have also been indirectly responsible for Li's death added more weight to her guilt. She wondered if Rafe was trying to sell himself the theory to assuage his guilt about Gabi's lockup. Ava insisted once more that if she knew anything, she would tell Rafe. While Rafe claimed he would accept her answer "for now," he warned that he would "keep digging" as long as his sister's freedom was on the line.

When Rafe departed, Ava called Harris and left a message saying she needed to talk with him. After she hung up, Ava fretted about the prospect of telling Wendy about Ava's possible role in Li's death. Ava prayed that Rafe was wrong.

At the Bistro, Kristen joined Stefan as he perused Gil's records in the hopes of finding a lead. Stefan toasted to discovering the necessary information and to setting Gabi free. Kristen begrudgingly expressed her hope to see Stefan and Gabi reunited, which surprised Stefan, as he had not thought of his sister as a "hard-bitten romantic." Kristen confirmed she was a romantic underneath her "ice-cold exterior." She warned Stefan, however, that when Gabi was set free, to "keep that bitch away from me."

Stefan and Kristen bickered about the terms of their deal. Stefan assured Kristen he wasn't planning to renege on their agreement, but he reminded her the top priority was getting Gabi out of prison. Stefan wanted to leave and talk to E.J. right away, but Kristen encouraged him to wait and see what Rafe could uncover.

Sloan found Leo with a bottle of wine in the park. She snarked about him being drunk again, and he asked her if she wanted "a nip of the good stuff," courtesy of "E.J. DiMera's bank account." Sloan asked Leo if he was crazy. Leo began drunkenly quoting Shakespeare, which prompted a frustrated Sloan to snap at him to "get over...being dumped on your ass" by a man who had apparently not loved Leo. She then raged at Leo for betraying the agreement they had made.

Leo defended himself by claiming he had been good to Sloan. Besides, he reasoned, the only other person who knew the truth because of Leo was E.J. Sloan contemplated if Leo telling E.J. might have been her fault, since she had left Leo drunk and alone. The two bantered about Leo's drunken state and how long it had taken him to tell E.J.

Sloan laid into Leo again for not honoring his word to her. Leo lifted the bottle and said, "this guy had other plans." Sloan wasn't buying Leo's attempt to blame his broken promise on the alcohol, so Leo backed off and tried out a sincere apology. He talked about his fondness for Jude and how a picture he had of the boy always lifted his mood. Leo believed, though, that Jude should be with his biological mother -- "the one who actually likes kids."

An incredulous Sloan let Leo know that Jude was never going back to Nicole. Leo was confused because he had believed that E.J. would want his baby back. Sloan reminded Leo about the terms of his deal with E.J. and commanded Leo to stop asking questions. Leo said asking questions was a part of his nature as a journalist, and his guilt had also been eating at him. He wondered how Sloan could "sleep at night" after having lied to Eric for so long.

Sloan dismissed guilt as "a waste of time," and Leo snarked that she had to have gotten that idea from "how not to have a conscience in ten easy steps." Leo reminded Sloan that they had not been party to a small lie but had let a grieving mother believe her child to be dead. Sloan threatened that if Leo said a word to Nicole, Sloan would tell E.J. about Leo's duplicity. Then, she coldly stated, his bank account would be "the least of" Leo's worries.

E.J. was surprised to find Nicole in the living room of the DiMera mansion, as he had thought she would still be at work. Nicole explained that she was on a break and had gone home in hopes of patching things up with Holly, who had been avoiding her. E.J. apologized for his role in the argument with Holly, and Nicole assured him he had nothing to feel sorry about. Nicole knew that E.J. would do anything for her.

Nicole mused about her rocky relationship with Holly, starting with when Holly had been born, only to be thrust into the middle of a custody battle between Nicole and Chloe. Nicole wondered if things might have been different if she had been allowed to raise Holly from Holly's birth. Nicole wished she had had that opportunity with her and E.J.'s son, but she had realized it wasn't meant to be. E.J. looked guilty as Nicole spoke.

Nicole wondered if E.J. knew what he had gotten himself into when he had married her. E.J. assured his wife that after Sami, being married to Nicole had been "a bloody cakewalk." Nicole asked E.J. to let Holly know that Nicole had been wanting to talk with her. E.J. promised he would, then he suggested Nicole attend an upcoming city fundraiser with him. Nicole thought the fundraiser would be a good opportunity to inquire about the town's charities and to get more information for her story on the unhoused. She happily agreed to the date, kissed E.J., and left.

E.J. sighed heavily and sat down for a drink. Stefan and Kristen disturbed his attempt to drown his sorrows. E.J. sarcastically greeted them as "my two favorite people in the world." The trio traded insults, and E.J. needled Kristen about DiMera's stock rising. Stefan tried to play temporary peacemaker, but E.J. accused his brother of trying to oust E.J. as CEO and install Kristen in his place. E.J. raised a toast to Stefano's portrait and cracked, "To family."

E.J. received another unwelcome visitor when Rafe arrived. Following an unpleasant greeting from E.J., Rafe presented E.J. with the file that contained photographs of Gil's bloody fingerprint on the black book. Kristen and Stefan looked on with intense interest as Rafe made his case for reopening Li's murder investigation. E.J. flippantly handed the file back to Rafe and scoffed that Rafe "had nothing," especially since Gabi's husband had been the one to discover the evidence. E.J. also reasoned that the book and the blood could be many years old.

A dumbstruck Rafe, Stefan, and Kristen argued against each of E.J.'s points. E.J., however, held his ground and reminded the group that any decision regarding the case was his decision as the district attorney. The case would not be reopened, he bluntly informed his angry gathering.

Eric arrived at the newspaper office and found Thomas sitting in Chad's chair. Eric warmly greeted the boy, who explained it was his school's "take your kid to work" day. With a smile, Eric asked Thomas if Thomas was going to be the boss one day. As Chad entered, Thomas said that he wanted to be a reporter like his mom. Thomas clarified that he wanted to be a crime reporter. Chad chimed in and talked about a story Thomas had been working on regarding the "mystery meat" in the school cafeteria.

Thomas and Eric shared light jokes about the story, and Thomas happily left to retrieve a camera Eric had offered him for the story. An amused Eric praised Thomas as "a good kid." With a smile, Chad attributed Thomas' good qualities to the boy's mother. Chad grew emotional as he talked with Eric about how much he missed Abigail and how much of her Chad saw in the kids. "Her light shines through us all," Chad said wistfully. Eric was certain that Abigail was "smiling down" on her family.

Chad and Eric talked about fatherhood. Eric affirmed that although Jude didn't share Eric's DNA, he'd felt from "the moment they put my son in my arms" that Jude was truly his son. Chad advised Eric to cherish every moment, and Eric called Jude a blessing. Chad turned the discussion to Nicole and asked Eric how it had been working with her. Chad knew that working with an ex could be a "thorny issue." Before Eric could respond, Nicole arrived with a notebook in hand.

Nicole handed the notebook to Chad and explained that she had found it in Chad's old room at the mansion. Chad opened the book and was rattled to see it contained Abigail's handwriting. He noted that the last entry had been made a few weeks before Abigail had died. As he read the notes, Chad observed that Abigail had included a lot of statistics and data on drugs and violent crime. He couldn't recall Abigail ever mentioning such a story.

Nicole suggested that Jack, as the former editor in chief, might know something about Abigail's story. Chad agreed and called his father-in-law. After he assured Jack that the kids were fine, Chad asked Jack about a story Abigail might have been working on before she had died. When he ended the call, Chad updated Nicole and Eric on Jack's assertion that Abigail had been working on something "pretty heavy." Jack had not known the subject of the story but had assumed that Abigail had dropped it.

Chad theorized that based on what he had read in the notebook, Abigail had not dropped the story and that it had concerned the drug operation in Salem. Nicole clarified that it likely had been the same drug ring that had put Holly in the hospital. Chad believed Abby had been onto Clyde. "The question is, did Clyde know it?" Chad wondered aloud.

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